Made a double batch of prosphora this morning before the kids woke up. The kitchen smelled like fresh yeast and the little seals came out crisp for once. Dropping them off at the church hall on my way to the evening shift.

I am now reading again that thin volume by old Porphyry, where he writes about prayer. This morning it stuck with me how he says that if a person does not have time for a long prayer, two or three sentences from the bottom of the heart are enough and the Lord takes it. I'm sitting now with a coffee before leaving for dinner and I'm trying it this simple.

In Pabianice a Polish Orthodox parish gathered for the feast of the Icon of Our Lady Joy of All Who Sorrow, drawing families from across the city to the modest wooden church for Liturgy and quiet prayers before the image. The same day Metropolitan Athenagoras was enthroned in New Jersey under the Ecumenical Patriarchate, with clergy and faithful filling the cathedral for the formal installation. In Bulgaria Patriarch Daniil presided over the patronal Liturgy at the Military Academy church of St George in Sofia, while the Romanian bishop Varlaam spoke at a parish gathering on the Gospel account of Jairus’ daughter and the power of shared faith and prayer. Local choirs in Pabianice kept the hymns simple and unhurried. The enthronement in New Jersey included the traditional handing over of the pastoral staff. Bulgarian soldiers and cadets stood alongside civilians at the academy Liturgy. Romanian listeners nodded at the reminder that one person’s trust can carry another through crisis. These feasts and gatherings continue at their own steady pace.

Saint Nektarios was commemorated with special services in the Greek Orthodox Church of Greece, where the Metropolis of Mantineia held its patronal feast and ordained a new priest during the celebrations. The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria published an extended profile highlighting his life and lasting influence as one of the key saints of modern Orthodoxy. In the same spirit, parishes of the Romanian Orthodox Church reflected on the lives of the saints during recent liturgies at Radu Vodă Monastery, drawing practical strength from their examples. Meanwhile, the Serbian Orthodox Church marked St. Demetrius Day with solemn services in Nevesinje. These quiet observances show how local communities keep turning to the saints for ordinary guidance in daily church life. How did your parish remember its patron saint or a recent feast day?

St Demetrius the Great Martyr was solemnly kept this week in Serbian, Romanian, and Macedonian parishes. In Nevesinje the Serbian Orthodox Church gathered for the traditional Mitrovdan liturgy with local families filling the church. Romanian hierarchs noted the saint’s protection over two of their bishops while young singers performed at the Timotei Popovici Festival in Caransebeș. The Macedonian Orthodox Church – Ohrid Archbishopric marked the day quietly at the St Prohor Pčinjski monastery in Donibrook where Metropolitan Nikola served. Elsewhere, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church saw Patriarch Daniel lead the patronal feast at the Georgi S. Rakovski Military Academy, and the Polish Orthodox Church kept the feast of the Icon of Our Lady “Joy of All Who Sorrow” in Pabianice. Small, steady acts of worship continue across borders. May the Lord strengthen the Serbian, Romanian, Macedonian, Bulgarian and Polish communities in every good work.

Bulgarian monasteries drew crowds of pilgrims this week for the feast of the Archangels, with special hierarchical liturgies held at several historic sites. Patriarch Daniil of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church presided over the festive liturgy at the metropolitan church of St. Archangels and also led the service for the patronal feast at the Georgi S. Rakovski Military Academy. In the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch, Metropolitan Saba celebrated a vigil honoring the founding saint of his archdiocese, while another parish in Qab Elias marked the Feast of the Archangels with Sunday Mass and the elevation of Father Silwan to archimandrite. The Ecumenical Patriarchate observed the Feast of the Meeting of the Archangels Michael and Gabriel with its own synodal commemoration. These gatherings quietly strengthened local ties between monasteries, parishes, and their bishops. May the intercession of the holy Archangels guard and guide the Bulgarian, Antiochian, and Constantinopolitan communities in the days ahead.

Today, after work, I am mixing the prosphora for the liturgy on Sunday. The dough came out beautifully, it was easy to shape and the smell of yeast wafted through the kitchen. I hope they will be good for communion.

Yesterday after the service I went out into the church courtyard, watered the flowers by the fence and trimmed dry branches on the bushes. The ground was already completely dry, I had to carry two buckets from the tap. My son promised to help me with new soil for the flowerbed this weekend, otherwise my hands are no longer the same.